Zacharon Pharma purchased by BioMarin

BioMarin Pharmaceutical said Monday it has purchased San Diego-based Zacharon Pharmaceuticals, which is developing drugs for Tay-Sachs and other diseases.

Novato-based BioMarin said it paid $10 million up-front for Zacharon, and may make additional payments if the biotech company's drugs make clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones. BioMarin ranks as one of the country's most highly valued biotech companies, with a market value of more than $6.5 billion.

Zacharon's technology is based on small molecule drugs that target aspects of carbohydrate metabolism, specifically glycan and glycolipid molecules.

In addition, Zacharon has developed tests to detect and monitor glycan-related diseases, such as Tay-Sachs, Gaucher, Fabry and other disorders. These are caused by a failure to properly digest glycans in a part of the cell called the lysosome, causing glycan fragments to accumulate and cause disease. These are collectively referred to as lysosomal storage diseases.

"The acquisition of Zacharon will further expand our glycobiology expertise and will support our lysosomal storage disease drug development efforts," Jean-Jacques Bienaimé, CEO of BioMarin, said in a company statement. "We are committed to investing in our advancing pipeline, which has evolved through a combination of internal development and targeted acquisitions, such as this."